


The Prince's Shadow

by KeeLimeArt



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Universe, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Promptis - Freeform, Younger characters, chubby prompto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 11:26:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9438152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeLimeArt/pseuds/KeeLimeArt
Summary: Noctis Lucis Caelum. Son of King Regis. Heir to the throne.  Ten years old. The most antisocial kid in Insomnia. That is, other than Prompto Argentum, a chubby, freckled boy who loved photography.The prince begins his days in a normal, local school close to the castle, but finds himself detached from his peers. Instead, the boy treads alone. Once he meets Prompto, however, he realized that perhaps not everybody wants to befriend him for his royal status.(A young Noct decides to confront Prompto instead of waiting for their high school years.)





	

Nothing was every quite so quiet in the kingdom. Insomnia was infinitely large to some, and home to many. King Regis and his son, Noctis, being two of the many. However, despite the peace that was being acquired over the years, there was still no rest in the royal court. Treaties had to be signed, wars prevented, and protection granted to its people. The king, himself, was responsible for most, and that was exactly what was going to be in the future of his son. There was no doubt about it. It was going to be a heavy burden for the boy to bear.

For the young Prince Noctis at about age ten, those worries were just going to have to wait. For the moment, he simply needed to worry about his schooling, training, and, as some would have preferred, his friends. How wondrous it was for the students at the local academy! A member of the royal family, instead of being privately tutored, was going to attend their school. Not just any member, the prince!

Of course, at first, everybody was trying to get a piece of Noct. Apparently everybody was going to be the young man's best friend, but those wishes were soon dashed aside as the boy realized something. The people at his school didn't want to personally get to know Noct. No, they wanted to befriend Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir to the throne of Insomnia. It wasn't that they were being friendly towards him. They just wanted to be friendly towards the PRINCE.

Eventually, the young boy with almost black, spiky hair drifted away from his schoolmates, instead becoming more of a lone wolf. Nobody thought to approach him and his sullen persona. While admired from afar, Noct was still just a lonely, young kid who had too much on his plate, too much at one time.

Still, he couldn't help but notice the one time somebody tried to talk to him out of the kindness of their heart.

Prompto Argentum was his name, and probably the last person that he thought would make friends with anybody- let alone the prince! An extremely plump, freckled kid with glasses isn’t exactly everybody’s definition of a friendship breeding ground. Yet, with a letter from Lady Lunafreya close to his heart, he ventured out to do the unexpected. He was going to talk to Prince Noctis. 

When the class received their daily break to go outside, Noctis remained in a more hidden section outside the school, where most decided not to go. Even so, most of the students knew that was where Noct ventured, and perhaps even the reason they decided to stay away. Prompto knew that he had only one shot at a first impression. Really, he was just like any other kid, wasn’t he? He should be able to go up, state his name, and invite Noct to join him, right? There was no way he could mess it up.

But he did.

As soon as he walked around the corner, Prompto, camera in hand, tripped over himself and knocked over a few things on his way to the prince. Startled, Noctis quickly spun around in that direction to see what was the matter, only to find Prompto laying belly first on the ground. The prince walked over to aid him, being taught from a young age to be polite and kind. Though, there were rare instances where he was obliged to use it. 

“Are you alright?” the prince questioned, holding out a hand for Prompto to take. The little blonde’s face blushed a deep crimson as he looked down at his camera and flipped through the photos.

“Y- Yes,” he stuttered. “They look fine.”

“Not the camera, silly, you!” Noctis managed to chuckle. Prompto looked up at the prince with his breath hitched in his throat. What was he supposed to say? “Come on, let’s get you up.”

Noct took the other boy by the hands and tried to pull him up, but to no avail. He was nowhere near being strong, nor was he the thickest noodle in the cup. 

“Urg, you’re so heavy,” the prince offhandedly muttered as he made an effort. 

The bell rang, causing Noctis to lose his grip, leaving Prompto on the ground. “Uh, bye!” he called out to the other boy with a wave as he headed back to class. 

Truly, Noct meant no offense to the words, but Prompto was very observant as well as the kind who took too many things to heart.  
Prompto didn’t show up again the next day, and the prince had to brush off the previous experience. To be honest, he was a little saddened that the boy didn’t show up, but he spoke not a word of it to anybody. There was a glimmer of hope the day before that somebody might actually wish to befriend him. Little did he know that Prompto was planning to talk to him again, just not yet. 

Since Noct’s remark from their first meeting, Prompto vowed to whip himself into shape before talking to the prince once again, but it was going to be no easy project. During the following weeks, the boy tried everything from exercise to dieting, but still, nothing seemed to work. There were times on occasion that he would catch a glimpse of Noct and debated over whether he should approach him again. Only, he would be stopped when he looked down at himself and pull his coat tighter or pull his shirt down more.  
Noct was not oblivious to these attempts. He noticed the times in the halls at school that Prompto would jump aside when he saw him coming. Honestly, it began to anger Noct a little. He already had enough of people trying to become false friends with him, but avoiding him only made it hurt more. 

Ignis Scientia had come every afternoon to pick up Noct. Just before he greeted the man once, the prince caught something in the corner of his eye. Prompto, looking very distraught at not having the courage to meet him, was shamefully walking away with his head arched. For days, that would happen to him until eventually he never showed up at all. Prompto had gotten very good at the game by then. He knew all of Noct’s routes and how to avoid him, and he decided to not try to talk to him at all until he made himself ‘better’. 

Noctis somewhat missed the detached company of the boy that used to shadow him. It bothered him that he didn’t see him around anymore, to the point that he was motivated to do something about it. 

Two years after their first meeting, Noctis went to approach Prompto himself. He surprised a few of Prompto’s schoolmates as he tried to get his name from them.

“Y-Your highness!” squeaked one of the girls with a bow as Noct tapped her shoulder. 

Noctis crossed his arms, obviously out of his comfort zone. “I’m looking for the blonde kid,” he bluntly stated. The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“Can you be a- uh, little more specific, majesty?” he asked.

Noct had to fight the redness that was readily gathering on his face. He cleared his throat to try again. “He carries around a little red camera?”

The girl’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape as the description clicked with her. She enthusiastically nodded her head. “Oh! Yes! Prompto Argentum is who you’re looking for,” she informed. “But… He normally just drifts around the school instead of coming out. If I had to guess, he’s probably still in the classroom.”

Noct nodded his head in understanding and headed for the building, giving the girl a small wave as he went. The prince paced the empty corridors of the school, everyone seemingly had gone outside, but Noct knew better than that. He knew that there was still somebody in there, and the person he was searching for was exactly where the girl told him that he was. Only, he was sitting outside the room’s door.

When Prompto saw Noct coming near, he broke into a sort of panic. What was HE doing inside at that time? He couldn’t let the prince see him like that! He wasn’t ready! After a moment of struggle, the boy launched himself onto his feet to bolt into the class as well as take his glasses off, but Noct was faster than that. In a blink of an eye, Noct had his hands on the door on either side of Prompto, blocking his exit. The other boy flinched as he did so, believing that he was going to be hit or worse.

“What do you want with me?” Noct calmly but steadily demanded.

Prompto keep his eyes shut tight as if it was going to direct Noct’s attention from him anyways.

“I just wanted to talk to you!” he exclaimed in explanation.

Noct’s face softened slightly at the confession, but he attempted to remain firm. A sudden thought struck him that only fired him up again, losing the softness in his expression.

“Then why have you been following me everywhere and hiding whenever I come close?” he asked.

Prompto honestly looked like he was about to cry. The force that the prince was using was unsetting. He just wanted to make friends!

“I- I was trying to- I had to-“ Prompto attempted, but he couldn’t quite get the words out. “You said that I was heavy. I couldn’t go up to you again until I was good enough. I couldn't let you see me while I was like this.”

Noct pursed his lips and scanned the boy. It was true, what he was doing. Prompto definitely looked slightly thinner than when they met, but he was still considerably chubby.

“That’s ridiculous,” Noct scoffed, leaving Prompto hurt at the words. “I don’t care about any of those things. Just tell me what you needed to tell me.

“I just want to,” Prompto began, but upon thinking through his words, he deeply sighed. “I just wanted to be your friend,” he lamely ended.

Noct’s face was completely wiped from emotion as he processed the words. He took two seconds too long, however, and left Prompto worried. Ever so slowly, the prince took Prompto’s hands and gathered the glasses that he was holding. He carefully reached up to the other boy’s face with almost mechanical movement as he placed the glasses back onto his eyes. He kept one of his hands at the side of Prompto's face, as if studying the boy in front of him.

“I told you, I don’t care about those things.”


End file.
